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Hingham Police Department News

Posted on: May 30, 2017

Resident Victim of Student Loan Phone Scam

A 31 year of man fell victim to a student loan payoff scam and lost $1,350.00. The Hingham resident received a call on May 22, 2017 from a man who claimed to be from "The National Institute of Health and Human Services". The caller, who had a foreign accent, identified himself as "Harry Potter" and said the resident was eligible for a federal grant to pay of his student loan debt. He said the resident needed to complete one task to be eligible. He needed to purchase $1,350.00 worth of iTunes gift cards and call back.

The resident purchased the gift cards at nearby Rite Aid on Derby St. He then called back and provided the gift card numbers in hopes of being eligible to "pay off his student loans".

The following day, the resident realized he was the victim of a scam and reported the incident to police. While the Officer was with the resident taking the report, the caller called back. The Officer spoke with the man, who again identified himself as "Harry Potter, and asked the Officer for additional iTunes gift cards. The Officer identified himself and the caller hung up. The caller ID listed the area code as 202.

As usual in these scams the gift cards are immediately redeemed by the scammers online before the victim can learns they were scammed.